Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe reacts to a bad punt against the Chicago Bears during first-quarter action at Soldier Field in Chicago, Sunday, November 25, 2012. Kluwe’s lawyer, Clayton Halunen, said Thursday, June 19, 2014 it will be a â€œcouple of more weeksâ€ before the results of an investigation into the former Vikings punterâ€™s allegation that he was released because of his support for same-sex marriage are released. The investigation began in January in response to Kluweâ€™s allegation that Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer made homophobic remarks during a 2012 position meeting, setting into motion events that resulted in Kluweâ€™s release in May 2013. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Tuesday’s conclusion to the Chris Kluwe saga included apologies from Vikings executive vice president and chief administrative officer Kevin Warren and Kluwe himself.

Kluwe finalized a settlement agreement Tuesday with the team 7-1/2 months after publicly claiming he was released from his longtime job as the Vikings’ punter because of his outspoken support of same-sex marriage.

In his accusation, published on the website Deadspin.com, Kluwe also contended that special-teams coach Mike Priefer disparaged gays during a 2012 team meeting, something Priefer admitted during the investigation.

Priefer was suspended for three games by the Vikings, and the settlement announced Tuesday requires the Vikings to donate an undisclosed amount to LGBT groups over the next five years. But Kluwe and Warren each offered apologies for disclosures made in a 29-page summary of the Vikings’ investigation into Kluwe’s accusations.

That includes Kluwe making a rape joke at the expense of then-Vikings strength and conditioning coach Tom Kanavy, whose alma mater, Penn State, had just been scandalized by the Jerry Sandusky child-abuse case.

“In his interview, Kanavy explained that Kluwe cut the seat out of his pants and then put them on to imitate a victim of the Penn State child-abuse scandal,” the summary reads. “According to Kanavy, Kluwe said that he was a ‘Penn State victim’ and to ‘stay away’ from him while his buttocks were exposed.”

Asked about that disclosure, Kluwe said, “If it offended people, I apologize.” But, he added, the way it was included in the summary was misleading, although he declined to get into specifics.

“I think context is important,” he said. “I think the summary that was released was lacking in context.”

Kluwe’s lawyer, Clayton Halunen, added that there’s a certain sanctity players should have in the locker room.

“In the locker room, it’s a different world and people say things, they kid around, maybe in a way that, looking back at it, maybe there were jokes you wouldn’t have made,” Halunen said. “Chris recognized that he’s said some things in his career that maybe weren’t the most thoughtful.”

Halunen also took issue with how Kluwe’s football abilities were characterized in the summary. “Like he was a punter in decline; that’s not true,” the attorney said. “It was unfair to paint him that way.”

When asked about parts in the summary that were critical of Kluwe’s punting, Warren said he apologizes to Kluwe for “any third party out there that said he was a punter in decline.”

The summary included critiques of Kluwe’s punting by former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo and former Pro Bowl punter Craig Hentrich.

“The Minnesota Vikings … sincerely appreciate Chris Kluwe’s eight-year career with the Vikings, during which he established many of our team punting records,” Warren said, “and apologize for any negative impact on Chris and his family that occurred during this entire process — and also any third-party viewpoints that Chris was a punter in decline.”

Warren also offered a general apology to those drawn into the investigation.

“We just want to make sure we apologize to anyone that was really involved in this process because it was complicated and it was stressful for a lot of people involved,” he said. “But I think at the end of the day, the results that you have seen and you’ve heard, that this will build positive awareness for the LGBT community. …

“This has been a complicated situation, and we tried to handle it with integrity and professionalism and honesty. … And if anybody was kind of offended along the way, within our organization or externally, it was not done with any intent or ill will whatever. We were just trying to conduct a professional investigation.”

Warren said he hasn’t spoken to Kluwe since he was named to the All-Metrodome team last December, the month before the Deadspin article came out. However, he said he respects Kluwe and wants to meet with him at some point.

“I look forward to having a chance to sit down with and Chris and his family,” Warren said

Chris joined the Pioneer Press in 2013 to cover the Vikings. He was a longtime NBA writer with the Akron Beacon Journal, Rocky Mountain News and AOL FanHouse. Before coming to Minnesota, he covered the Miami Heat and Dolphins for Fox Sports. Chris has won four awards in the past three Pro Football Writers of America contests. Chris is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he spent his college years watching the losingest team in the history of Division I-A football.

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